iTunes 11 has been completely redesigned from the ground up. Development of iTunes has been stagnant the last few years so Apple needs to get this one right. Has Apple nailed it or is the new iTunes a mess? Read on to find out.
The interface of iTunes has been completely re-imagined. Everything is simpler and space is better utilized. In the previous version of iTunes, there was a persistent bar on the left where you can access playlists, albums, devices, and more. While it provided quick access to those features, most users didn't use them most of the time. Apple has scrapped this and has made the default album view take up the entire window.

Browsing by album is a pleasure. Click on an album and the tracks will show up below. iTunes also analyzes the color of album artwork to create a colored background for each individual album. It works well for the most part but the effect blurs the album art around the edges.

New in iTunes 11 is the "Up Next" feature, which is basically a fancy name for your queue. Add songs to your queue from wherever you are in the interface. You don't need to manage a playlist to arrange and rearrange the tracks to your liking.

Creating playlists is much improved. Instead of having to jump in and out a playlist to add and arrange tracks, playlists now have a dedicated pane on the right where you can manipulate tracks without having to jump around the program.

iCloud integration has also been tightened. Every track you've bought in iTunes will now show up in your music library, whether or not it has been downloaded. Click on it to download the album. User can now also stream directly from the cloud instead of having to download the track first. This also applies to all your TV and movies that were purchased in iTunes. There's also a dedicated tab for iTunes Match, Apple's music matching service to make all of your tracks available across devices, if they're available in the iTunes store.

The iTunes store has also gone through a redesign with featured content up top. Top lists are still there and are easier to browse. iTunes 11 will also allow you to access the iTunes store content from your music library, suggesting similar artists and tracks, without having to take you to the iTunes store.

The mini player has also been completely redesigned and is actually useful now. The mini player has gotten smaller but utilizes that small space much better than previous versions. Player controls will show up with you hover your mouse over the mini player. There's access to search and your Up Next queue can be manipulated from the mini player.

Devices now show up as a button at the top right. Clicking on it will take you to a detailed page where you can manage everything. Choose what you want synced, manage your apps, and even play music directly from your iOS device. Everything is easier to read and comprehend in the device tab.

The only thing missing from iTunes 11 is a music streaming service. iCloud gives users the ability to download tracks locally but not stream them. There is no subscription service in iTunes to compete with the likes of Spotify, Rdio, and Xbox Music. It's only matter of time before Apple releases its own music subscription service but it's disappointing that Apple didn't release it with iTunes 11.

iTunes is still one of the best media players around. It has gotten easier to use, feels less bloated, but is still missing a music subscription service.

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iTunes 11 has been completely redesigned from the ground up. Development of iTunes has been stagnant the last few years so Apple needs to get this one right. Has Apple nailed it or is the new iTunes a mess? Read on to find out.

Features

iCloud integration has also been tightened. Every track you've bought in iTunes will now show up in your music library, whether or not it has been downloaded. Click on it to download the album. User can now also stream directly from the cloud instead of having to download the track first. This also applies to all your TV and movies that were purchased in iTunes. There's also a dedicated tab for iTunes Match, Apple's music matching service to make all of your tracks available across devices, if they're available in the iTunes store.

The iTunes store has also gone through a redesign with featured content up top. Top lists are still there and are easier to browse. iTunes 11 will also allow you to access the iTunes store content from your music library, suggesting similar artists and tracks, without having to take you to the iTunes store.

Usability

New in iTunes 11 is the "Up Next" feature, which is basically a fancy name for your queue. Add songs to your queue from wherever you are in the interface. You don't need to manage a playlist to arrange and rearrange the tracks to your liking.

Creating playlists is much improved. Instead of having to jump in and out a playlist to add and arrange tracks, playlists now have a dedicated pane on the right where you can manipulate tracks without having to jump around the program.

The mini player has also been completely redesigned and is actually useful now. The mini player has gotten smaller but utilizes that small space much better than previous versions. Player controls will show up with you hover your mouse over the mini player. There's access to search and your Up Next queue can be manipulated from the mini player.

Devices now show up as a button at the top right. Clicking on it will take you to a detailed page where you can manage everything. Choose what you want synced, manage your apps, and even play music directly from your iOS device. Everything is easier to read and comprehend in the device tab.

Quality

Conclusion

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The interface in Advanced SystemCare can be a bit confusing at first. Instead of having a standard toolbar or menu system, the program shows a sphere structure on the left side pane that gives you access to the four main sections: Home, which is a summary of the program's usage stats; Maintain Windows and Diagnose System, which contain Advanced SystemCare's main tools to scan, repair and optimize the computer; and finally Utilities, a pack of small system tools that let you perform small fixing tasks, like defragging the hard drive, backing up drivers, finding duplicate files or finding out which programs are set up to run with Windows.

Advanced SystemCare is surprisingly quick. It hardly takes a few minutes to scan and fix your system, though it may take a bit longer when defragmenting the disk. In any case, Advanced SystemCare always creates a backup copy before fixing anything (as well as a restoration point the very first time you launch it) just to be on the safe side.

Advanced SystemCare is an easy-to-use, quick system analyzer and optimizer that fixes the most common computer problems and can make your PC faster and more stable.

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Wise Care 365 is divided into four different features: PC Checkup, System Tune-up, Privacy Protector, and Wise Utilities. The program begins with an easy-to-follow setup tutorial that helps you configure Wise Care 365 for your PC. The initial scan will reveal various components and files that are either slowing down your PC or not needed.

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Adjust brightness on laptop Adjust brightness on Mac running Windows

The software allows Windows users to adjust brightness. If brightness cannot be adjusted, the software changes screen contrast instead. This is a big difference from other software on the market.

PC users running Windows iMac, MacBook Air, MacBook Mini, Mac mini users running Windows

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Trying to speed up Windows can be like trying to find the Holy Grail no matter how little time you've used it, it always starts to slow down.

AusLogics BoostSpeed allows you to Modify Windows settings, file systems and services to supposedly improve system performance. It's designed to help increase startup and shutdown speed, disable annoying CD autoruns and unwanted error reporting features. AusLogics BoostSpeed can also automatically inform you if your system needs a tune-up or advise you on what needs doing.

You also have the possibility of running the System Optimization Wizard to periodically optimize your PC with AusLogics BoostSpeed. AusLogics BoostSpeed will help you adjust your PC for faster images, music and software downloads, increase browsing speeds and create a more reliable Internet connections. AusLogics BoostSpeed displays all results in graphical format which looks good although you have to be sceptical about exactly how much the program is really changing. Other than that, the program doesn't seem to offer anything that a decent cleaner such as CCleaner offers to wipe temporary files off your hard drive.

You may notice some initial speed improvements after using AusLogics BoostSpeed but probably not enough to make any major difference to the performance of your machine over the long run.

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Overview

If you’ve had your PC for awhile, it’s not uncommon for it to get slower over time. Part of this has to do with accumulated clutter. You’ll want to use an application that optimizes your computer to get it back up to speed. TuneUp Utilities 2013 is a good option. The program helps remove browser traces and other file clutter to ensure your PC is running its quickest.

Streamlined and intuitive

When you launch TuneUp Utilities for the first time, the programs performs a system analysis and displays the 1-Click Maintenance window. This provides you with an overview of your computer's main problem areas, the specific problems it has found, and a "1-click" button to fix them.

TuneUp Utilities' main window is divided into several tabs, each one of them devoted to a different purpose: status & recommendations, gain disk space, customize Windows and more. The whole program exudes efficiency by only showing essential information unless you choose to look deeper into any one option. A complete list of TuneUp Utilities' functions - and there are many - is available under the Overview of all functions link in the top right corner of the program.

Loads of optimization tools

TuneUp Utilities 2013 includes tools to optimize system startup, defragment the hard drive, clean broken keys in the Windows Registry, restore accidentally deleted files, check your hard drive for errors, and modify hidden settings and customize Windows’ appearance, just to name a few. Other interesting utilities in TuneUp Utilities 2013 are a file shredder, a complete system report generator and the excellent 1-Click Maintenance tool, which lets you automatically and regularly scan for some of the most likely issues your computer might encounter.

Among some of TuneUp Utilities 2013's newest features are an Economy Mode - perfect for saving battery when you are on a laptop - and a flexible, automatic program deactivation option, ideal for when you need peak performance for certain tasks.

New in the 2013 version

On top of all those great features, TuneUp Utilities 2013 comes equipped with a myriad of new features. The TuneUp Disk Cleaner, for example, removes junk data from over 150 programs. It can clean chat logs, history lists, and cached files in one easy step. TuneUp Utilities 2013 also includes Live Optimization, which will stop resource-heavy applications from slowing down your PC, as well as a Browser Cleaner, which will clean various traces such as Flash cookies. Browser Cleaner is compatible with the Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Opera, Safari, and Firefox browsers.

TuneUp Utilities 2013 gathers all the maintenance and optimization tools you need into one efficient, easy-to-use application. You couldn't ask for more.

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Using the program is a pleasant experience - at the most basic level, add the files you want to compress/decompress using the file explorer on the right and chose the action you want from the main toolbar or by right clicking. The PeaZip interface is fresh and easy-to-use with a few built-in themes to spice things up.

Right-clicking on a file or folder and choosing Add to archive or Browse path with PeaZip will also provide direct access to the program's factions. The compression/decompression process is very quick and smooth, and there are impressive advanced options for users who want to get a little more technical.

Among the best of these advanced PeaZip features are the encryption/password options, compression variables, and the File tools, which allow you to split files, join them and even view the checksum files. PeaZip really impressed us - it's a top-class program that performs at a really high level, and is a worthy rival to apps such as WinZip or 7Zip.

PeaZip is a fantastic program for all your compressing/decompressing needs.

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This Windows tweaker and optimizer is designed to provide you with professional results even if you have little knowledge about system tweaking. Ashampoo WinOptimizer features a nicely-designed interface and lots of useful tools, all conveniently organized into different categories. There's also a tab for Favorites, though you can't customize them: they seem to be automatically selected according to the number of times you've run each tool in Ashampoo WinOptimizer.

The main screen in Ashampoo WinOptimizer displays a summary with basic system information and the current maintenance status. Clicking the Main menu button on top of the window opens up a menu with all the program’s tools, with which you can clean the drive, optimize the Registry, tune up system startup, check active processes, securely delete files, and perform a system benchmark, among many other options.

All the tools included in Ashampoo WinOptimizer feature a clean design and are very easy to use. There is also a handy One-Click Optimizer that performs a quick scan and clean routine.

With Ashampoo WinOptimizer you can effectively increase the speed and performance of your system in just a few clicks.

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Gigafly is a Complete all in one Computer toll that your computer needs to maintain its speed and help you optimize it. Automatic Maintenance - Check hard drive errors that causes it to crash Disk Cleaner - wipes out junk files files Registry Cleaner Uninstaller - uninstall any program completely, even the leftovers that may conflict with your other programs. Disk Defrag File Shredder - File Shredder comes with the most sophisticated data destruction algorithms in existence to be certain that your confidential files, data and information are totally beyond recovery. Startup Optimizer -Startup Optimizer delays loading your startup entries so that Windows can boot faster. And Many more features are available.

Its a complete all in one tool that your system needs to protect and enhance your computer performance, easy tp use, and comes with the live help 24*7, to connect a technician and help you fix any issue on your computer

This software can be used by any user to protect the data from unauthorized access, to clean computer and enhance its performance, ist simple and easy to use even a kid can run a scan and fix issues with it.

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Featuring the same robust engine from previous versions, the new Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013 is one of the most powerful protection tools you can use to defend your system from viruses, worms, Trojans and other sorts of malware.

What does it do?

With a totally revamped interface, all designed in white and green, Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013 feels very comfortable for the newcomer, while including extensive configuration settings that enable more tech-savvy users to adapt the program to their needs. The bottom area in Kaspersky Anti-Virus includes buttons for the program’s main functions: scans, database update, a virtual keyboard and a quarantine area for infected files.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2012 includes three types of system scan (Full, Critical Areas and Vulnerability). Not only does the program take care of your file system in real time, thanks to a heuristic-based monitor, but also your email, web browsing and even IM conversations. All these filters can be tweaked in the program's comprehensive settings menu. On the downside, the regular scanning of any active apps can momentarily slow down your system.

Added protection

The program also includes the so called Kaspersky Security Network, an online service that improves Kaspersky’s response to new threats, thanks to anonymous data collected from users.

There are lots more advanced settings to play around with in Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013. You can customize the way the utility protects your system, applying more protection, or disabling certain aspects in order to free up CPU resources. Make sure you check out our article about using the advanced features of Kaspersky Anti-Virus.

All in all, Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013 is a nice security solution. It offers real-time protection and lets you scan your system for possible vulnerabilities. It's a suitable tool for all levels of users - clear enough for the less experienced, while also offering serious customization options for the more tech-savvy.

Free alternatives to Kaspersky Anti-Virus

There are several free antivirus suites available that can protect your computer from threats in a similar way to Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013. Most do not have the same level of advanced security features, but they are worth looking at if you are on a tight budget.

- avast! Free Antivirus
- Panda Cloud Antivirus
- Microsoft Security Essentials
- Avira AntiVir Personal
- Rising Antivirus 2011 Free Edition

With Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013 you can effectively protect your system from all possible online threats.

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It contains many powerful features: : Registry Cleaner to Clean up registry errors; Registry Optimizer to remove unnecessary and useless registry entries; Junk Files Cleaner to scan and remove junk files from your computer and free up space; Memory Optimizer to free unused allocated memory for better utilization; Internet Optimizer to examine and adjust internet settings to maximize network speed; System Service Optimizer to check and optimize system service to maximize the utilization of resources; Shortcut Cleaner to clean up invalid shortcuts to maintain a clean and uncluttered desktop; Privacy Cleaner to clean up privacy traces; Startup Optimizer to customize and optimize startup programs to short PC startup time.

1-Click PC Tuneup is a one click operation for the user, it can be called baby operation, so even you are a newbie to the computer, you can use it to fix and speed up your computer.

Everybody, no matter you are computer expert or newbie. When you find your computer is slow, you can use 1-Click PC Tuneup to help you clean and speed up your computer.

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Unlike the antivirus created by the same developers, AVG PC Tuneup doesn't focus on viruses or spyware, but rather on registry issues, junk files, low performance and other problems that can make your computer run slow or even freeze.

The main tool in AVG PC Tuneup is the Registry scan, which looks for errors in the Windows Registry. The scan includes application paths, file extensions and associations, and installed software. Registry scan is quite thorough, meaning it can take a while to finish.

AVG PC Tuneup's main interface features two other tabs, which take you to the System Advisor and Resource Usage respectively. System Adviser displays tips and tricks to make your system faster and more efficient, while Resource Usage shows the current usage of system resources on your computer, in real time.

Finally, AVG PC Tuneup includes a set of Advanced Tools, among which you’ll find utilities to cleanup the hard drive, find duplicate files, obtain information about installed hardware and software, erase history and wipe data securely. Bear in mind though that not all of these tools are available in the trial version.

AVG PC Tuneup is a full maintenance, analysis and optimization suite that helps you take good care of your computer in all critical areas.

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Game Booster aims to get the most out of your system, changing the settings so it can run games better. Not all of us can afford an optimized gaming PC, and use one system for everything from surfing the internet, listening to music to playing games.

As new games often use a lot of system resources, running them smoothly requires turning other applications off. Game Booster is a neat application that will do lots of these processes at the click of a button, freeing up much needed RAM for all sorts of games: online games, shooting games or racing games, among others.

As well as improving gaming, Game Booster will also help in running any system hungry application you choose to launch. Game Booster itself uses very little processing power, and it's great being able to turn lots of processes on and off with a single click.

While we found it successful at freeing up a surprising amount of RAM, Game Booster could be improved by being able to turn off other apps people often run all the time, like iTunes. Currently there is no way to edit the list of processes to suspend.

Game Booster won't perform miracles, but will help squeeze the most out of your system and get games running more smoothly.

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Small businesses can afford to employ NetGong for monitoring critical e-mail and Web servers. NetGong features: runs as a system service automatically on startup, allows you to monitor network devices or services without installing an agent on each machine, allows quick network resource configuration, allows all parameters to be set independently for each network resource, permits you to temporarily disable monitoring of certain resources, alerts you to failures using a variety of techniques ranging from audible alarms to third-party software, allows you "fine tune" the alerting functions to avoid unnecessary alerting during an extended failure, alerts can be enabled for any combination of failure and recovery notices and allows custom alerts to be created for each monitored resource.

Each alert type can be tested in order to verify that the alert is configured correctly prior to going live, allows e-mail notification via SMTP with the server of your choice, provides significant security benefits during authentication with mail server and data communication, supports keyword values and customized message information, offers real-time and historical reporting capabilities to assist you in tracking network resources availability, provides reports in HTML format to help keep track of network resources availability in an easy to view list, provides remote access to the monitoring results using a Web browser.

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It works both with files and folders, both with a single item or massive selections. Besides enabling you to change the basic attributes, you can also modify date and time with extraordinary precision.

Attribute Changer goes straight to the point: simple interface and easy to use. It has no configuration options (probably because it doesn't need them) but includes a fairly complete Help system to solve all your doubts about its usage.

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Highly configurable, SyncBackPro includes: open/locked file copying; file versioning; fast backups; detailed and easy to read log files; email results; simulated backups and restore; file filters; sub-directory selection; copy verification; background backups; auto-close of programs; easy and expert modes; profile groups; compare files, and an extensive context sensitive help file.

SyncBackPro, developed by 2BrightSparks, is an enhanced version of the multi-award winning SyncBackSE software. SyncBackPro provides a dependable way of ensuring digital files are safe with a simple interface that enables the first time user to backup and save their valuable data within minutes.

As well as an 'Easy Mode' for essential backup, restore, and synchronization tasks, SyncBackPro has an 'Expert Mode' that delivers advanced functionality.

If you need to backup to an FTP server or network and email the results this is where you'll fine-tune the software. SSL (implicit and explicit), MODE Z compression, and one-time-passwords are supported.

SyncBackPro requires Windows Windows XP, Windows 2003, Windows Vista, Windows 2008, Windows 7, or newer. Both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows are supported.

Help is always close to hand if you run into difficulties. A comprehensive context sensitive help file provides easily accessible instructions and guidance about all aspects of using SyncBackSE.

Simply click a help button at the bottom of the window you happen to have open, and you'll get taken straight to the help page for that task.

In addition an extensive Frequently Asked Questions section provides all the answers you're likely to ask when carrying out a backup, restore, or synchronization task.

A lively public forum is also available at the 2BrightSparks website that provides additional help and information.

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Comprehensive protection

Norton 360 takes care of all aspects of safety for your computer, including viruses, hacker attacks, spyware, identity theft, and data loss. The Norton 360 dashboard controls four main areas: PC security, Identity, Backup and PC Tuneup. Each of these areas then provides access to the main tools and tasks needed to keep your system safe. Every area is comprehensive in nature, with various different customization options and choices to choose from.

Security features

Among the security utilities that Norton 360 offers are email protection, anti-phishing filters, IM monitoring, anti-virus and anti-spyware protection, and functions for safe web browsing like scanning your Facebook wall. This program will also perform PC tune up-asks that improve the performance of your system, and it can back up important data in the event of a computer meltdown.

Norton 360 has several configuration options that allow you to modify various areas. Unfortunately, although lots of the features sound good, the suite is geared at intermediate users. Norton 360 does a good job of everyday security, but lacks the more advanced features and information that higher level users might seek. If you're looking for a little more antivirus power, check out Avast! instead.

Norton 360 lives up to its name, providing comprehensive 360-degree protection for your computer.

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Scan & Clean IE Tools Registry Backup System Optimize

A Toolkit designed to scan, diagnose and your operating system. Using it results in better optimization, manages startup and desktop, assists you with maintaining browser objects, internet options, system service, and repairs file extensions. With this arsenal of powerful, sophisticated utilities your system is tuned to run at its optimal state. Included are Easy Repair Wizard, Error Utilities, File Association fixer, Register ActiveX, Shortcuts Fixer, Winsock2 Repair toolkit, Dll Fixer & mo

SmartPCFixer™ is a top-ranking error-resolution registry cleaner which will fix the computer errors and optimize the system settings. You can scan, clean, optimize, and keep your PC much healthier with it !

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